Many persons enjoy playing games of chance, such as KENO, or other games. However, in some cases a person may not be able to play the game because of transportation problems or for other reasons. Thus, the person may not be physically able to drive a car to the site of a KENO game or to a store where lottery tickets are sold.
The present invention concerns a method of playing a game of chance, such as KENO or the lottery, without having to be physically present at the game site, or without having to travel to a store or other location where lottery tickets are sold.
The method of the present invention involves the use of phone-operated facsimile machines for transmitting game information from each game player to the physical site where the game is being played, i.e. the place where the KENO numbers are drawn, or the winning lottery numbers selected. Simultaneously, when dialing the telephone number to transmit the game information, the game player is automatically charging the cost therefor to his/her telephone bill. Each game player inserts a game sheet containing a predicted winning combination into a facsimile (fax) machine at his residence or where he might be at a particular point in time, e.g. in a hotel room or in a restaurant. Information on the game sheet is transmitted over the telephone line to a receiving fax machine located at the same site, e.g. the KENO hall or the main lottery headquarters. An electronic reader device at the game site will read the duplicate game sheet generated by the receiving fax machine, and electronically tramsmit the information on the sheet to a computer memory and return a receipt confirmation to the game player with date and hour received, and further information as to approximate time of playing and number of the game, personal identification number, etc. The information received by the game operator is stored in the computer memory pending the time when the game is to be played or the winning lottery number drawn. At the designated time the winning numbers are punched into the computer and electronically compared with the numbers in the computer memory to select a game winner (or lottery winner).
The principal advantages of the invention are that each game player can play the game without having to physically travel to the game site or to a lottery sales outlet and can automatically charge the amount played for to his/her telephone bill. Senior citizens, confined to their residences, would especially enjoy the benefits of this invention.